Walk With Me - Devotionals

So Shall My Word Be

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 19th October 2022

Passage: Isaiah 55:10-11

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As I am writing this it is a very showery day — now snow but rain lots of it! As I came into my study — getting wet in the process for the study is in a shed in the garden — I was reminded of these lovely words in Isaiah 55. Indeed the whole of this chapter is so encouraging it is a real Gospel chapter and well worth your time reading it.

Through the prophet, God is telling us about the 'fruitfulness' of his word - which we have today in the Bible. Just as the snow and rain meant the ground would be read for seed and plants to flourish, so God says his word shall not return to him empty but it will accomplish all that he wants it to do.

One of the great Christian activities over very many years has been the work of the Bible Societies helping people all over the world to get Bibles in their own languages at reasonable prices. God's word has gone out to the ends of the earth. And, of course, it is accomplishing great things.

It is also a great encouragement for preachers of the Gospel to know that when they faithfully proclaim God's word, that word will accomplish what God wants it to do. God wants his word to accomplish great things in your heart and mind too. It can make a terrific difference to us when we take it seriously.

Dear Lord, thank you for the Bible. Help me to read, study and live its message. Amen.

Uninvited Guests

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 18th October 2022

Passage: Jude 4

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They were not invited, they are noisy, messy and hang around all day and night. No, I'm not referring to new neighbours or party-goers, but seagulls who have taken up residence on our chimney pots!

I don't know if Jude was bothered with seagulls but he was certainly warning about the danger of travelling uninvited preachers. There were many such men in the early days of the Christian church and they claimed to have special powers, healing powers, revelations directly from God. But James said they were "Shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license — which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master." (The Message) People like them are still around. There are still preachers, maybe in churches or maybe on television who claim special healing powers or 'charismatic gifts', but who do not teach the whole Gospel of the saving grace and purity of God. Don't invite them in! Wrong teaching always leads to wrong living.

Too often Christians are tempted to take a lead from worldly people and end up living in a non-Christian way themselves, denying the way of 'Jesus Christ our one and only Master.'

Let's heed the warning Jude gave to the people of his day. Beware these 'guests' who turn out to be 'shameless scoundrels'.

Dear Lord, please help me to avoid inviting into my heart the devil and his ways. Amen.

Face To Face With The Almighty

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 17th October 2022

Passage: Job 40:1-5

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You can't help feeling sorr for Job. He had been through so much and now we find him having to stand up and face God. We read that God spoke to Job out of a violent storm — it is a symbol of all that Job had been going through. He had been tossed to and fro by his physical problems and the criticisms of his friends. He was at a loss to understand what was happening to him and why. And then God spoke to him. The final chapters of the book of Job are truly wonderful chapters. They did not give Job answers to all his questions in a way. What God did was to show Job who he the Almighty really was like. God was far and away greater and more wonderful than Job had ever imagined. God was far and away wiser than Job had ever imagined and, as Job found out in the end, God was far more loving and generous that he had ever imagined.

When faced with all of that, no wonder Job was "ready to shut up and listen."

Well how about us? God hasn't changed. Today we can say that God has shown us even more of himself and his grace, mercy and love than he showed to Job because Jesus came into the world — God's only and well-loved Son — to be our Saviour. Are we tempted at times to grumble about God and his ways with us? Should we not 'shut up and listen to him' the Almighty. He cares for us.

O Lord, help me to realise just how wonderful you are. Amen.

Living For Christ In A Hard World

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 16th October 2022

Passage: 1 Timothy 2:8-9

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When we plant new churches today, problems can crop u for different reasons. Many of the people who attend a church plant are new to any kind of church, some may be from churches where they did things differently.... In a way, Paul faced the same problem. Many of the people in the new churches (like Ephesus, where Timothy was at the time) came from Jewish backgrounds and some from pagan backgrounds. So at times they would argue about things (the men especially in this case) and some of the women seemed more anxious to catch the eye of the men. Timothy needed advice!

Paul wanted each congregation to be a real family in Christ, loving one another eager to learn more about God and his word, and to be different from the pagan culture that surrounded them and which was often giving in to all sorts of sexual temptations. It was hard to be a Christian in those days. It was especially hard for women who were for the most part less well educated than men and needed to learn more about the Scriptures and the faith so that they would not be taken in by the false teachers going around. Much of what Paul writes in these verses was to help both men and women to become strong Christians, as he mentions earlier in his letter: "Pray for rulers and all who have authority so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives full of worship and respect for God." (1 Timothy 2:2)

The Patience Of God

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 15th October 2022

Passage: 1 Timothy 1:16

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Just imagine you are in a museum and one of the rooms is full of life-size figures of people from all over the world and in different times. You come to one figure and it is called Paul. What do you think the notice describing him might say? Well, here is what he wrote about himself in verse 16: "Public Sinner Number One — someone who could never have made it apart from sheer mercy." (The Message)

It seemed that Paul, to begin with, was a' no-hoper' as far as becoming a Christian was concerned, but God was patient with him even though Paul persecuted Christians, and was insolent — he was a thoroughly nasty character. But God was patient with him. All that he had heard about Jesus slowly but surely began to seep into Paul's mind and heart, and the mercy and grace of God brought him to put his trust for salvation in the very Jesus whom he had been fighting against. God had been patient with him. When Paul thought of it all it was almost a if he gave a leap of joy and sang out "Deep honour and bright glory to the King of all time — One God, Immortal, Invisible, ever and always. Oh yes!" (verse 17, The Message)

Perhaps you pray for someone who seems far away from trusting in Jesus. Don't give up praying. Be patient. God is patient — he was with Paul and maybe he was with us too. Keep on praying, God hears us!

Dear Lord, Thank you for your patience with me. Help me to have the same. Amen.

The Wrong Kind Of Criticism

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 14th October 2022

Passage: Luke 6:9

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Some people are constantly criticising others. Sadly, this can be particularly true within church circles. People can 'nitpick' and be critical often over very unimportant things — perhaps just because a person is doing things differently. There are arguments over different translations of the Bible, taking out the pews in a church, the colour of paint for the building, the hymns we sing or new versions of the Psalms. Church people can get steamed up about lots of things! Religious people in Jesus' time were just the same and they hounded Jesus from place to place because he would not give in to their prejudices or to their false ideas of what God was like or what God's word really said.

The result of all this was that these critical people missed the blessedness of Jesus' company and the real fellowship of the apostles. Their criticism became so bad that in the end they had Jesus crucified. And of course their criticism destroyed themselves as well. Jesus at one stage called them "children of their father the devil." (John 8:44)

Now we can point out the nastiness of these enemies of Jesus but what about our own hearts? Is there a spirit of bitterness or criticism in us that is really the opposite of what Jesus wants to see in us — he wants to see true grace and love and understanding.

In The Spotlight

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 13th October 2022

Passage: Psalm 40:9

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Each week in our congregation we have a 'Spotlight', a short opportunity to highlight some activity or person that will be of special interest to folk and also be an opportunity to pray for that person or activity.

Two days ago we read how David experienced the great relief of being saved from a fearful pit and a miry bog and had his feet set on the firm rock of God's salvation. Well now he wants everyone to know about this — he is given the 'Spotlight' as it were — and he says, "I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation... I have not hidden your deliverance in my heart... I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness..." He wanted everyone in the church to know what God had done for him in saving him.

When was the last time you told someone of what God has done for you? When we are Christians, one of the privileges we have is to tell people just what God has done for us in saving us. The hymn writer Samuel Medley who lived in the 18th century wrote a lovely song about telling others of what God had done for him: "Assist me here, my God and King, Your everlasting love to sing, and gladly spread your praise abroad as one, through grace, who's born of God."

Telling the glad news of deliverance! Ask God to help you to tell someone of what he has done for you. It will be a blessing to you and to the other person!

Peter — A Busy Apostle

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 12th October 2022

Passage: Acts 9:32

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One of the funny remarks that people sometimes make about ministers is that they only work one day a week! Ministers can often be extremely busy people. The verses 32 - 43 in Acts chapter 9 show us a little glimpse into the life of the Apostle Peter — and it shows he was a very busy man. Let's remember that as well as the things we read about him doing, he had to walk everywhere - and that took time.

The first thing we read about in these verses is that Peter came to visit the saints (the Christians) at Lydda. Lydda was a mostly Jewish town in an area where there was a mixed population, so the saints at Lydda were most probably Jewish Christians, although two of the people we meet had Greek names.

Peter healed a paralysed man called Aeneas. But look what he said to Aeneas - "Jesus Christ heals you". Peter was acting as Jesus' agent, not claiming any power for himself. Then Peter was called to go to Joppa eleven miles away to restore to life a well-loved Christian lady called Dorcas or Tabitha who had been such a help to many. When he came to her home, Peter knelt down and prayed — no doubt asking for help from Jesus. Dorcas was restored to life and what joy that must have brought to the Christians!

Last of all, we read that Peter went to stay with a man called Simon who was a leather-worker. This made him 'unclean' in Jewish eyes, but to Peter he was a Christian brother.

Standing On Solid Ground

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 11th October 2022

Passage: Psalm 40:2

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Near where my mother grew up there is a small river. The river never seemed to be in a hurry as the water just flowed slowly and quietly towards a loch at the end of a valley. As children we were always warned to keep away from the river not just because it was deep but because along the banks of the river were wide stretches of reeds — the ground looked solid but it was actually very unstable and unsafe — like a miry, miry bog that David who wrote the psalm speaks of.

The first five verses of this psalm (40) are beautiful — they are a personal testimony to what the Lord had don for David and it is a testimony that can be shared by everyone who is a Christian. The feeling of lostness and insecurity that we can experience in our spiritual wilderness is turned to joy and thankfulness — like standing on solid rock after being in the bog — when we come to know the saving goodness of Jesus Christ.

And notice how David goes on to tell what a great difference the Lord has made to his life — he is singing, singing praise to God, and the change that God has made in his life is obvious — people can see it. As a result, others too are brought to put their trust in the Lord. David just can't get over the wonderful difference God has made in his life — it's a life of miracles and he tells us just what a blessing it is to trust in the Lord.

Do you have that faith in Jesus that thrills your life and makes you sing? Ask God to take your life and set it on the solid rock of his salvation.

Born Again

Reader: Jon Watson

Date: 10th October 2022

Passage: 1 Peter 1:3

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Very often people imagine that they can please God by living a good life with plenty of good works and having a very charitable spirit. Certainly there is very much to be said for living a good life and doing good works. However, no matter how much we try to be good, we are never good enough to please God. Is God being too hard and censorious with us? By no means. God cares about us too much to think like that.

What God is telling us is that in every one of us there is a fatal flaw. We call it original sin. It is in every person and it means that, even in our finest efforts, we miss the mark of God's standards; we fall short of pleasing him and that original sin, and all our other sins, will prevent us from entering God's perfect and holy heaven.

The fact is that the only way to be right with God and have our sin dealt with is to be b. That is something we cannot do . Only God can do it for us. But you ask how can I be born again if God does it all? Well it all comes to us through our Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done through his death and resurrection.

First of all we must realise we need to be born again. Then we must want to be born again and we must ask God that he would graciously give us that new birth. Finally, we must trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, repent of our sin and follow Christ in obedience. All of this comes about by the Holy Spirit working in our heart making us willing and able to receive all these things.